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Re: I would like to be a commercial beek

Hello Guy. Hope you're still reading this thread.

The lowest investment, quickest return on investment, and most reliable market is Queens and queen cells. A few hundred hives can generate a lot of income. Queens are also a way to keep bees and not be mobile.

Spending a month or 2 over the next 2 springs with a experienced beekeeper should be enough to give you what you need know....at least enough to get started. That's pretty low investment of time also.

Queens are all about you and your work. Not how much you own.
Good luck

Re: I would like to be a commercial beek

I heard once about how Randy Oliver sold half of his combs every year by selling half of his hives. Maybe as nucs, I forget. This was on 400 hives. He then split the remainder and was bck to his 400 hives. Seemed like a good idea to me.

Re: I would like to be a commercial beek

Originally Posted by Markt

Going from a hobbyist to a sideliner first you'll learn how to keep bees (Which hopefully you already know) and then to break into being a sideliner you'll have to learn to keep bees efficiently. .....

..... I'd try some number between 50 and 100 next year if I were you, that'll give you a bit of an idea what I'm talking about. If it works out, double again and try that. I should mention you won't make much honey off of those if you turn 15-20 nucs and a few hives into 50-100 (Like maybe a barrel) but it can be done, you'll even get to buy your very own tote of sugar out of the deal. Just my two cents, best of luck

I figured I would try and go with around 25-40 hives next year. Maybe only 25, and focus on splitting and queens. I have been reading some books that make me think that this is the best option for me at this moment. I'm just figuring out the logistics at the moment, and going to spend the winter reading, reading, reading. Thanks!

Originally Posted by sqkcrk

Personally I think he is looking at it the wrong way. He should figure out what he wants from life and then see if beekeeping can help make it true.

That is pretty much what I am doing, I have a general idea what I want, and I'm trying to see what the the work thats being cut out for me will look like. But wise statement regardless.

Originally Posted by sqkcrk

Navy benefits? I wouldn't want to try to start anything in his shoes. But I guess he has to do something. I wish him all the luck and hard knocks I had. Education is expensive and we all pay for it one way or another.

Navy benefits leave me covering the bills, and paying for my formal schooling, with a bit extra. Just quit a job because it was interfering with my school, and childcare (loooong story) and I make more going to school so why not do that instead of being stuck at minimum wage and 15 hours a week? It was costing me more in childcare and gas alone than I was making. Now I can focus on school and use my other incomes to build up, also the free time I will have to research this particular venture and literally build hives and such.

Originally Posted by hpm08161947

He lives right in the middle (1 hour drive either way) between two of NC's most successful commercial beekeepers.... both very approachable guys. This is one of his big assets... if he will use it.

I am looking into it. It was a great suggestion, I didn't mean to seem like I have been blowing it off. I kinda just started skimming once all the hostilities broke out.

Originally Posted by snl

The trick in life is finding out what you LOVE to do THEN figuring out a way to make money doing it!

+1. Do what you love, and the money will come. Has worked for me so far, just seems to be getting a bit harder each time as what I want become more expensive

Originally Posted by hpm08161947

The biggest problem he seems to have is that he is "Immobile". Mobility would seem to be a number one requirement for a Commercial Beekeeper. He is 25 and already tied down.... alas.

True, true. I give you that. Part of the reason I cannot take the ND job, or I would. I am hoping in 16 years (or less, depending on how the relationship with the mother stabilizes) will open more doors, and hope to be set up by then, and that's what I'm looking into now, by reading, talking to people, and starting controversial threads, apparently.

Originally Posted by ryan

Hello Guy. Hope you're still reading this thread.

The lowest investment, quickest return on investment, and most reliable market is Queens and queen cells. A few hundred hives can generate a lot of income. Queens are also a way to keep bees and not be mobile.

Spending a month or 2 over the next 2 springs with a experienced beekeeper should be enough to give you what you need know....at least enough to get started. That's pretty low investment of time also.

Queens are all about you and your work. Not how much you own.
Good luck

ryan

I have been leaning towards that for the last few weeks, and since my books came in the mail, and really cleared out some of the fuzzy areas for me, I intend to focus on that in the coming spring, and only building my own apiary with splits and stuff, developing a positive relationship with the inspector, learning from her, and learning from others as well.

Re: I would like to be a commercial beek

I'm getting on here late and don't have time to reed all the post so some of this could have been covered. Do to the topic I wanted to chime in about my last two day's of trying to become a sideliner. I left my house Wednesday morning for work at 4 am. I got home from work at 3:30 pm. I then drove four more hours to load bees by hand. At 12:30 am I was strapping my load. At 3:30 am I was calling my wife to bring me some tools to work on my alternator and give me a jump start. At 7:30 am I was back on the road still three hours from my destination. At 12:30 pm I had my load empty and started pulling honey suppers. I did get an hour of sleep waiting on my wife though. My advise after this is, if you can't put in a couple of day's like these once in awhile you should look for a different profession as bee keeping doesn't wait until tomorrow.

Re: I would like to be a commercial beek

Guy, what are the books you got for queen rearing, if you don't mind my asking? My county has a queen rearing initiative and I think it's a lot of fun. I have it in my head that raising my own queens (just to replace my own over the years) will be one of the more rewarding parts of beekeeping, but I'd love to know more about it.

Re: I would like to be a commercial beek

Originally Posted by hedges

Guy, what are the books you got for queen rearing, if you don't mind my asking? My county has a queen rearing initiative .... one of the more rewarding parts of beekeeping, but I'd love to know more about it.

Of course I don't mind, it also gives others the chance to give their opinion on the book and its applicability and credibility.

G.M. Doolittle's "Scientific Queen Rearing", It was written in the mid-1800s or near, and is written in a tone like most books written in the victorian era. I also received Increase Essentials, but John Connor Lawrence. I only had a chance to skim two chapters, but I really like it so far. I think it will teach me quite a bit to build off. I also received "bee sex essentials" by Mr. Lawrence as well, but haven't cracked it much, I only showed a few pictures to my son who grabbed it and wanted to point out "bees daddy!" I like that it has glossy pages and colored (thought dated) photographs. To be honest, I kinda like the dated "style" photos. Rustic feel.

My club mentioned a queen initiative, but I think I was the only one interested in it at the time, everyone thought it was a good idea, but haven't talked any more about doing something with the idea. We will get around to it, I hope to become involved.

Re: I would like to be a commercial beek

Originally Posted by BeeCurious

"Connor" is Larry's last name... Hopefully you will hear him speak about bees someday.

:facepalm:

That would be nice, I like his style of writing. You know when you are reading a run down of something, and no matter how many times you've read or heard about it it doesn't seem to stick quite like you would like? His book(s) seem to fix that problem with me.

Re: I would like to be a commercial beek

Originally Posted by WLC

Guy:

Get your bankroll together, start building already.

I think that you can do it.

Thanks man!

Right now, I'm reading up as the summer semester winds down, figuring out what I have, what I need, and then developing a plan to get what I need. Looks like I need to learn some woodworking skills lol

Re: I would like to be a commercial beek

Accounting skills are more important than woodworking skills, imo. Take a Small Business Class or two. So you'll know what to do when you build your business.

I've taken a few basic ones here and there, more than I care to. I know it is a very important aspect, and it is something I will have to get good at. Thanks.

Originally Posted by WLC

If you haven't already done so, don't forget to apply for credit cards while you're still in school.

Also, if you haven't already applied for a student loan, and you still have a few more years left for your degree, it might be a way to bootstrap your operation.

This sounds good in theory, but 2013 will be marked as the year I became 100% debt free. My school is paid for, I get scholarships that more than cover tuition, on top of tuition being paid for from the GI bill. So these are part of where the financing is coming from to fund this adventure. I would rather not get right back into the debt loop. If, in a few years, this is doing well, I may look into getting loans and such, but I would really rather not unless necessary. I would rather live meagerly and own everything I own, instead of basically renting it from the bank.

I have talked to a local carpenter, and we are going in on some wood. Well, I'm going to buy some wood, and he is going to make me however many hives and nuc boxes I need for next year as soon as I decide what wood to use. I also have a very nice beek going to use me for the remainder of the summer so I can learn to graft and raise queens, hands on. So hopefully by next spring I can at least supply myself with queens, or perhaps the following year depending on how well I take it up i suppose. I figured, I can earn good income, with the same investment, if I focus on this aspect too, as it will also be a needed skill throughout my involvement in the hobby.

Now while I'm learning this, I'm trying to learn how many hives it would take to be capable of producing twenty (at least) mated queens a week. Doubt next year will be the year this happens for me, but we will see. He even offered some of his good queens for me so I'll have good stock to work with.